West Windsor,
N.J. -- Catcher, first baseman and pitcher Russ Stupienski enjoys
the opportunities afforded to him as he moves around from position
to position.

What the Mercer
County Community College sophomore has wanted most, though, is the
opportunity to play Division I baseball on an athletic scholarship.
His wish will be fulfilled beginning next fall on a scholarship
he has accepted from Saint PetersCollege of the Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference.

Ive
wanted to play Division I baseball for a long time, Stupienski
said. And now that Im going to have the opportunity
to do so, Im real excited about going there, hopefully contributing
to try to build that program up more.

MCCC
baseball player Russ Stupienski

Stupienskis
father, Ray, was a second baseman at Rutgers during the early 1980s, something
Matt Wolski, Russ head coach at MCCC, eventually did himself. Wolski
said he is especially pleased with how hard the Criminal Justice major
has worked both on and off the field since arriving on campus last fall.

The
5-foot-8, 180-pound Stupienski, who throws righty and bats lefty, hit
.304 (34-for-112) in 39 games as a freshman last spring, but also had
28 walks for an impressive .440 on-base percentage. He collected four
doubles, two home runs and 21 RBIs. During the summer, he came into his
own as a dominant pitcher for Bordentown Post 26 of the Mercer County
American Legion League and was named the circuits Most Valuable
Player, also batting .442 with a league-best seven home runs. He participated
in a prospect camp at Saint Peters this summer and made his official
visit last month.

They
want me to come in and compete for the starting catchers job,
Stupienski said. If that doesnt work out as the No. 1 catcher,
then Ill probably be the No. 2 catcher and pitch out of the back
end of the bullpen, like Ill be doing at Mercer.

I
like hitting because its always there every day. Theres always
a chance to have a good day.